Knights’ win over Warwick creates Section One logjam

Warwick’s Nicholas Williams outleaps Hempfield senior midfielder Jake Suchar for a head ball in Monday night’s game at Grosch Field in Lititz. Photo by Kirk Neidermyer

Drew Johnson didn’t get onto the scoresheet Monday night, but still, Hempfield’s back might have come up with one of the game’s biggest plays.

With the Warriors trailing 1-0 in the second half, Robbie Heckman’s blast from the right side was punched up in the air by Black Knight keeper Tristan Green and two Warwick attackers were quickly closing ground.

Johnson, however, managed to kick the ball out of harm’s way to frustrate the Warriors.

“Hey, credit to their guy, he made an incredible play,” Warwick coach Gordy Cowher said. “If we put that ball in, I think the momentum of the game changes dramatically. But we didn’t.”

Unfortunately for the Warwick boys, Hempfield’s Ryan Hepler added an insurance goal with 4:05 left and the Black Knights went on to earn a 2-1 win at Joseph Grosh Field in Lititz.

Having entered the game with an opportunity to clinch at least a share of the Section One title, the Warriors (9-3 overall) instead fell into a three-way tie for first place with Hempfield and Manheim Township — all with 6-3 league records — with just one game left. Conestoga Valley (5-4 L-L) is also in the picture.

It wasn’t the scenario Warwick envisioned when it had a two-game lead atop the standings prior to suffering a 2-0 loss to Township last Friday.

“We told them last week, ‘Hey, we have three games in front of us. If we take care of our business, we don’t have to worry about anybody else,’” said Cowher, whose squad finished the regular season last night (Wednesday) at Cedar Crest. “And guess what? We did not take care of our business. At this point, (the Section race) is so crazy. It probably won’t end up in a four-way tie. A three-way tie is conceivable and a two-way tie is more than likely.”

According to LNP’s Tim Gross, if two or more teams end up tied for first place, they will be considered co-Section champs.

In regards to Section One’s two L-L playoff berths, Gross said that if Hempfield (at CV), Warwick and Manheim Township (vs. Penn Manor) all win their final game, either Wednesday or Thursday, the Streaks would claim the Section’s top seed in the L-L playoffs by virtue of a 3-1 record against the Warriors and Black Knights. The No. 2 seed from Section One would go to Hempfield thanks to a better goal differential in the section.

The current District Three 4A power ratings list the top four squads as Manheim Township, Hempfield, Wilson and Warwick, respectively.

“I’m already looking forward to Wednesday night just to see how they respond,” Cowher said. “I’ve got a gut feeling. I think I know how it’s going to go because this group has been resilient all year.”

Although the Warriors might not have looked as sharp as they had hoped to be against Hempfield, it was still just a 1-0 deficit at the break after the Knights’ Nebeyu Bekere lofted an arching shot into the top of the net off the fingertips of Warrior keeper Drew Stief with 16:47 left in the first half.

Warwick’s deficit could have been worse if not for Stief (5 saves) denying Jake Suchar from close range with 31:58 left on the clock. For the game, Hempfield had a 7-6 advantage in shots.

“We just didn’t come out with that attitude, with that enthusiasm that we had earlier in the season,” Cowher said. “I don’t know if losing to Township for the second time put us in a (state of mind) of starting to question ourselves. They’re high school kids and it’s easy to look at a window and say, ‘Oh, we didn’t play well against Township.’”

The Warriors welcomed Heckman back Monday after their leading scorer missed Friday’s game against the Streaks. But Ash Derry and Ben Pennypacker weren’t available due to injury and Garett Springer played at less than 100 percent.

“Missing three starters, that’s a lot. It hurts, but at the same time, you can’t be making excuses,” Cowher said. “Other people have to step up.”

Hempfield’s defense didn’t make it easy for Warwick, putting a lot of pressure on the ball and often forcing the Warriors into sloppy passes.

“I think (the Knights’ pressure) had a lot (of impact), especially at the beginning because we came out and I think it intimidated us, to a certain degree, and it put us on our heels and we played more passive, instead of attacking,” Cowher said.

Still, Warwick got one of its four corners with 33:25 left in the second, and then soon after, Green saved a header by David Dieal and a shot ticketed for the left corner by freshman Jacob Smith.

About seven minutes later, Johnson saved the day for the Knights following Heckman’s blast at the net.

“It sure is (a game of inches),” Cowher said. “Absolutely.”

Eventually, Hepler’s goal in the 76th minute all but sealed the outcome for the Black Knights.

With just 3.5 seconds left on the scoreboard, Smith spoiled Hempfield’s shutout, tucking home a rebound, with an assist from Heckman, but it wasn’t enough.

“In the second half, I think the bulk of the play was down here in our offensive half,” Cowher said, “but we just didn’t connect things.”

Last Friday, Manheim Township got a pair of second-half goals from Liam Wright and shut out Warwick 2-0 in a Section One game in Lititz.

“Take away two head balls and that’s a 0-0 game,” Cowher said. “Tonight (against Hempfield), we had opportunities both in the first half and second half, as they did. But they put theirs in and we didn’t put ours in. And that’s what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to capitalize.”

The Blue Streaks outshot Warwick 5-3 and held a 7-6 advantage in shots. Stief finished with five saves between the pipes for the Warriors.